Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
The three new IITs in Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh will teach not only engineering, but also design and creative arts, management, health sciences, humanities and social sciences.
… To be set up at an outlay of Rs 760 crore each over six years, outsourcing will be resorted to in the three IITs for various routine services. In fact, the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has only approved creation of the post of director and the registrar in each institute along with minimum support staff. The HRD ministry would submit a separate proposal to EFC for support staff.
… Initially, each institute will have an intake capacity of 200 students, but when fully developed, each IIT will have a total student strength of about 3,000 students with approximately 2,000 of them in B Tech, 500 in M Tech, 400 in Ph.D and 100 as post-doctoral fellows.
The new IITs will be mentored by one of the existing IITs to enable them to attain high standards. Each institute will have a faculty strength of 262 at the end of the seventh year of operation and adhere to the teacher-student ratio of 1:9, as in the case of other IITs.
Our earlier article at https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=630 gives numbers related to NISER, IISERs and some of the IITs.
March 6th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.
… The decision, officials at the human resource development ministry concede, indicates a desperate effort to stall the drain of top teachers from IITs to the corporate sector or foreign universities, which offer salaries several times higher than what the government pays.
The ministry has set up a committee under IIT Kharagpur director Damodar Acharya to determine the performance indicators and recommend the raise the best professors will receive.
Quality and quantity of peer-reviewed research and student feedback from classes are likely to be two crucial indicators, sources said.
“The top faculty, who are often wooed by the private sector, will now receive differential treatment and will get salaries close to what they would in the corporate world,†a senior official said.
At present, the faculty are paid a fraction of what fresh IIT graduates earn.
… A separate committee will be set up to revise pay scales for all faculty members at the IITs and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). But the revised scales will be no match for corporate salaries, officials conceded. The increments the Acharya committee recommends will be over and above the hike.
March 6th, 2008
Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=35889.
The Committee on National Defence University has recommended establishment of an Indian National Defence University. This will include existing institutes namely National Defence College (Delhi), National Defence Academy (Khadakwasia), Institute of Defence Management (Secunderabad) and Defence Service Staff College (Wellington) and new institutes namely National Institute of Strategic Studies, College of National Security Policy, Institute for Advanced Technology Studies (Bangalore). No final decision on location of the proposed university has been taken as yet.
The courses conducted at the tri-Services training institutions, training institutions of the three Services and the National Defence College are recognized for award of diplomas/ degrees by various universities across the country and All India Council for Technical Education. Details are given below:-
National Defence College:
All officers undergoing the NDC Course and possessing a Masters’ degree are eligible for admission to the M. Phil programme of the University of Madras.
Tri-services training institutions:
|
Sl. No.
|
Name of the institution
|
Degree
|
University
|
|
1.
|
National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla
|
B.A./B.Sc.
|
Jawaharlal Nehru
University
|
|
2.
|
Defence Services Staff College, Wellington
|
M.Sc.
|
University of
Mumbai
|
|
3.
|
College of Defence Management, Secunderabad
|
M.M.S.
|
Osmania University
|
Higher Command Course:
|
Sl. No.
|
Name of the institution
|
Degree
|
University
|
|
1.
|
Army War College, Mhow
|
M.Phil
|
Indore University
|
|
2.
|
College of Naval Warfare,
Mumbai
|
M.Phil
|
University of
Mumbai
|
|
3.
|
College of Air Warfare
|
M.Phil
|
Osmania University
|
(iv) All technical courses being conducted at various training institutions of the three services are also recognized for award of diploma/degree by All Council for Technical Education, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi and by various other Universities across the country.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri A K Antony in a written reply to Dr. K.S. Manoj in Lok Sabha today.
March 3rd, 2008
Following are excerpts from a PIB release on this.
In a significant development towards setting up a world- class petroleum technology institute in India, Smt Sonia Gandhi, Member of Parliament and UPA Chairperson laid the foundation stone of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) at Jais, near Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh on 20th February 2008. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas piloted the enactment of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) Act 2007 with a view to incorporate RGIPT as an ‘Institute of National Importance’ under an Act of Parliament having a governance structure as well as legal empowerment to grant degrees in a manner similar to that enjoyed by the IITs.
…The total estimated capital cost of the project is Rs.435 crore which would be met partially through budgetary support of Rs. 285 crore and Rs.150 crore from Oil Industry Development Board. The total estimated recurring expenditure of Rs. 260.58 crore would be met from the accrual of interest on Endowment Fund of Rs. 250 crore to be created with the contribution of Oil Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), student fees, donations and other earnings of the Institute through Research & Development, consultancies, students’ placement fees, etc. The Institute is envisaged to be self sufficient and self-reliant by the year 2015-16.
… The Institute will commence its academic operations by admitting students from the academic year 2008-09. To start with, there will be two undergraduate courses namely B. Tech. in Petroleum Production & Reservoir and B. Tech. in Petroleum Refining and one MBA course on Petroleum Management. The Institute will become fully operational in 2015-16and would have 7 B. Tech, 6 Integrated Masters Degrees, 8 M.Tech/MBA and 12 PGD and Ph.D programmes.
It is proposed that RGIPT would have a high degree of autonomy in terms of its academic, administrative and financial functioning. RGIPT would have legal empowerment in its own right to enable it to grant degrees and other academic distinctions and titles. Furthermore, it is envisaged that RGIPT would enjoy the patronage and support of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India. It is in the interest of the nation that the Government nurture the Institute in its nascent and crucial stage of development to enable the Institute to launch and run its programmes without compromise and set up world-class infrastructure while offering courses of a high standard. According RGIPT the status of the “Institute of National Importance”, is expected to help attract eminent faculty members and meritorious students to the Institute.
February 20th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.
The BJP launched a scathing attack on the Congress-led UPA Government for its continued apathy towards the State.
Addressing the opening session of the two-day State executive committee meeting of the BJP here on Thursday, party president Suresh Pujari lambasted the Centre for its preferential treatment to the State so far as sanction of Central projects or Central assistance is concerned.
“The only solution to the Centre’s apathy is to build a movement against the UPA Government in the State,” Pujari said.
The BJD-BJP combination has completed 10 years and the alliance will continue to rule the State, Pujari asserted and exhorted party leaders and workers to defeat the evil design of the Congress. All the projects sanctioned by the NDA Government for the State are either shelved or relocated to other states.
The Netaji Subash Bose All India Institute of Medical Science is languishing for lack of financial support. While Orissa’s demand for an Indian Institute of Technology has been ignored, states having several national institutes are being given special treatment, he rued.
February 8th, 2008
On Feb 2, 2008 9:43 AM, Krishna Murari <kmacharya@…> wrote:
Please see the attached message. Am afraid, the Oriya paper got it completely wrong.
-Special Secy, MHRD
======= His message is below my reply to him. ======
Dear Mr. Acharya:
It is very easy for some one in Orissa to believe that you said what is reported to have been said in Samaja.
Already, your minister Mrs. Purandareswari said something similar. See http://www.indianexpress.com/story/30436.html where it is reported that she read a list of institutions in Orissa that have central assistance to justify why Orissa should not have given an IIT. If she, or the staff who wrote that response, had bothered to compared this with other states, which we did (please see http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol1/state_wise_national_lab.pdf ) she/they would have found that other states have much more such institutes and this reasoning is yet another attempt to harm Orissa by the MHRD.
In general, people all over Orissa have developed a deep distrust of MHRD for reason listed below. From your past actions we are very apprehensive that MHRD will find or make up some reason or other to deny an IIT to Orissa or just deny without any explanation.
This is despite the fact that:
(i) Orissa is now is at the bottom of per-capita spending by MHRD in marquee institutions. In our earlier calculation, reported nation wide (see http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol0/2006%2002%2014%20ht-mhrd-spending.pdf and
http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol0/2006%2002%2012%20asian-age-mhrd-spending.pdf ) and in International Herald Tribune, Bihar and Rajasthan were below Orissa and they were rightly given an IIT. But then Orissa was skipped for the 3rd and 4th new IIT announcements.
(ii) Orissa is at the bottom of higher education enrollment at about 6.1% and needs to cover the largest gap to get to the 11th plan goal of 15%.
(iii) Orissa is the 9th largest state in area and 11th largest in population. (Note that the 8 new IITs will take the total # IITs to 15.)
(iv) Orissa is among the most backward state of the country in most parameters and has the most backward district cluster (KBK districts made up of almost half the size of Orissa) in the country.
(v) Orissa has a vast population of tribals.
(vi) Orissa is trying its best to industrialize and is among the lead in recent ASSOCHAM studies regarding investment destinations.
(vii) The people of Orissa, its MPs, and its CM have been trying very hard for several years now to convince MHRD and the PM about an IIT in Orissa, but without any results. Please see the media articles stored at http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol0/ , http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol1/ , http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol2/ , http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol3/ to know the involvement of every one in Orissa on this. This is very very different from any other state asking for an IIT. Nowhere, the intensity and passion comes even close.
Now let me give you the reasons why people in Orissa have a deep mistrust towards MHRD and believe that MHRD is actively working to keep Orissa down and harm it.
A. MHRD took away a previously announced (by the President) NIS from Orissa. The MHRD fought tooth and nail with Orissa in the political arena (parliament), in courts (Cuttack high court and supreme court), and other places on the NIS issue. And it never gave Orissa the NIS it had taken away which are now called IISERs. MHRD gave them all to its favored states (Pune, Kolkata, Punjab, Bhopal and Kerala.) See http://iit.orissalinks.com/vol1-nis/ and http://iiser.blogspot.com for the press articles and chronology of this.
Thank God, India has a prime minister who has some shame, who sanctioned NISER from his ministry, the DAE. Despite that NISER’s approval in the cabinet was delayed and even now other hurdles have been put that continues to prevent NISER from recruiting regular faculty.
B. The following is a partial list of higher education institutions funded by MHRD that MHRD has announced since this government came. Sir: Can you please find Orissa’s name in it?
1. IISER Kolkata, West Bengal (1)
2. IISER Pune, Maharashtra (1)
3. IISER Mohali, Punjab (1)
4. IISER in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (1)
5. IISER in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala (1)
6. IIT in Andhra Pradesh (1)
7. IIT in Rajasthan (1)
8. IIT in Bihar (1)
9. IIM at Shillong, Meghalaya (1)
10. SPA in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh (2)
11. SPA in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (2)
12. Upgradation of Bengal Engineering and Sc U to an IIT clone (IIEST), West Bengal (2)
13. Upgradation of Andhra Univ Engineering College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (3)
14. Upgradation of Osmania Univ Engg College to IIT clone (IIEST), Andhra Pradesh (4)
15. Upgradation of IT BHU to IIT clone (IIEST), Uttar Pradesh (1)
16. Upgradation of Cochin Univ of Sc and Tech to IIT clone (IIEST), Kerala (2)
17. IIIT Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu (1)
18. Allahbad University made to a Central University, Uttar Pradesh (2)
19. Manipur University made to a Central University, Manipur (1)
20. Arunachal Pradesh university made to a Central University,Arunachal Pradesh (1)
21. Tripura university made to a Central University, Tripura (1)
22. New Central University in Sikkim, Sikkim (1)
23. CIEFL Hyderabad made to a central university, Andhra Pradesh (5)
24. Indira Gandhi Nationan Tribal University, Madhya Pradesh (3)
25. IIT in Himachal Pradesh (1)
This MHRD has announced TWENTY FIVE+ national institutions so far and Orissa does not even figure once in that list and I am sure you can figure out why people from Orissa completely distrust MHRD and its intentions.
C: Please read the following excerpt from the Orissa government press release on Oct 24 2005 where CM of Orissa discussed about a tribal university in KBK region of Orissa.
… In addition to this, Shri Patnaik also requested for establishment of a Central University for the KBK Region, which is one of the most backward regions in the country. He pointed out that there was a heavy concentration of the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste population in this region, which has a literacy rate below 50%. Shri Patnaik stated that setting up a Central University in the KBK region would go a long way in encouraging higher education among tribal population. He added that the university could also set up specialized centres for tribal development related studies, as tribal development was one of the biggest challenges facing the country today. Shri. Arjun Singh appreciated the rationale of having a Central University in the KBK region and sought a formal proposal in this regard from the State Government. He assured that this would receive high priority whenever the Central Government considers setting up of new central universities
Please compare it with the following about the proposed Indira Gandhi National Tribal University that came out in Hindu on 19th November 2006. (http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/19/stories/2006111900750900.htm) and it seems that the idea proposed by our CM was stolen by MHRD to establish a similar university with HQ in MP and Orissa was conveniently ignored and thus harmed.
- … The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University will encourage studies on tribal art, culture and traditions, forests and natural resources. Tribal students will be given priority in admission. … The D. Swaminadhan Committee, set up by the University Grants Commission, recommended the setting up of a varsity exclusively for promoting tribal culture and providing tribals access to higher education.
====
Thus MHRD is the ministry which not only has not given any national institute to Orissa but seems to have taken away two of them from Orissa: an NIS/IISER and the tribal central university which Orissa seem to have proposed first. Please look up a thesaurus to find out the adjectives used for some one who steals from the poorest of the poor. MHRD, because of its actions towards Orissa, deserves that adjective.
==
Since we do not have any trust in MHRD, we have to take things directly to the PM, Mrs. Gandhi, the planning commission and the people of India at large. There is no other option left for the weakest and the poorest and the most backward when the MHRD that is supposed to help it steals from it and tries its best to harm it and makes up ridiculous and false reasons for it.
We sincerely hope that either the MHRD will come to its senses or the PM and the planning commission will bring it into its senses so that MHRD grants at least
(i) an IIT to Orissa so that Orissa has one of the 15 IITs in the country (b) one of the 14 proposed world class central universities (c) one of the proposed 10 NITs (d) a tribal central university in KBK (out of the remaining 16 new central universities) for all of the reasons mentioned earlier in the mail.
[Again, Orissa is the 9th largest state in area, 11th largest state in population, has been historically funded the least by MHRD, has to bridge the largest gap from 6.1% to the 11th plan target of 15%, and among the states that is trying its hardest – by rapid industrialization- to get out of the bottom of everything.]
Anything less, we will know that MHRD is up to its tricks again, and despite the fact that the PM has increased the number of institutions to so many (8 new IITs taking the total to 15; 14 world class central universities; and 10 new NITs) that there is really no reason, except spite and intent to harm, to not give Orissa the above mentioned institutions.
sincerely and with best regards,
Chitta Baral
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Krishna Murari <kmacharya@…>
To: RAJESH MOHAPATRA <mahapatrark@…>
Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:43:18 +0500
Subject: Re: Please don’t force Orissa to remain backward: Reaction to "No IIT for Orissa because it has NISER" – MHRD special secretary as reported in The Samaja
The statement apparently attributed to the Special Secretary, MHRD, in some sections of the Oriya press is completely wrong. No such statement -that because of the NISER, IIT would not be considered for an IIT – was ever made. What was actually said was that Orissa’s demand for an IISER was met by establishing a NISER there.
– Special Secy, MHRD
February 3rd, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer. (Also reported in Statesman, Sambada, New Indian Express, Dharitr1, Dharitri2, Pragativadi)
… Coming down heavily on the Centre, Patnaik said, "I am surprised to see that decisions are being taken on a political consideration. I have repeatedly taken up the matter of establishing of an IIT in Orissa with the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Human Resources Development (HRD). I have told them that Orissa’s case is a genuine one."
Raising his voice against the Centre, Patnaik said a question should be asked why the Centre shifted the National Institute of Science (NIS), which was sanctioned by the then NDA Government from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata.
Reacting sharply over the remarks of the Union Secretary of HRD that Orissa does not deserve an IIT as it has already got the NISER (National Institute of Science and Educational Research), Patnaik said how could the NIS be shifted to Kolkata when IIT, Kharagpur is already there.
"How West Bengal has taken two such premier institutes? All these decisions have been taken on a political consideration," Patnaik said.
In his letter Patnaik mentioned that as Orissa was witnessing a rapid growth in industrialisation, these technical institutes are required for creating the requisite manpower.
February 2nd, 2008